Forgiveness
by Yardbird9
Summary: Helga becomes very angry with Arnold forgetting an important event. Is their relationship over?


Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold, or it characters………To each his own.

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The autumn leaves gradually fall to the ground of the park, while the sun slowly slips away from view. The dark of night gradually appears, but partially disappears, blending into the park lights that suddenly blaze. Two couples pass under one of the blazing park lights, one after another. The first couple is a tall, curly hair male. He holds the hand of a petite, female with glasses. Her raven hair softly touches her shoulders, as she lightly brushes it aside. She suddenly giggles about her boyfriend's joke. After they pass the rays of the park light, the second couple appears on the edge of the park light. But they stop suddenly, when the blond hair female suddenly pulls her hand away from the hand of her Football head shaped partner, with the cornflower hair. Her voice cuts through the night air. 

"Arnold! How could you?" Helga says with hurt feelings, as her anger rises.

"What?" Arnold says, completely baffled, since he doesn't know why his girlfriend suddenly becomes emotionally distraught.

Helga stares at Arnold, trying to hold her temper, since she cannot believe he doesn't know what she's talking about. She immediately puts her hands on her hips.

"You forgot what day this is!" 

Her boyfriend stands alone, feeling the pressure of her sudden wrath, not knowing what to say or do. His mind races back and forth, trying to figure out why this day is so special. But his mind produces nothing. He knows he cannot get out of this predicament. He faces his girlfriend ready to take the consequences, and wonders what will become of him. His silence tells her that she doesn't have to control her temper anymore, releasing the anger floodgates in full fury.

"You stupid Football Head! Today is our first anniversary being together, or does that not mean anything to you!" 

Helga's temper has taken the best of her, as she turns around and storms off. She slowly vanishes in the dark void of the park. 

Arnold winces in pain, covering his face, which drops down in despair. He tries to recover from Helga's barrage of words, which hit him hard. But he knows that he made a big mistake. He slowly raises his head, as he watches Helga disappear into the park. He tries to find something comforting to say to her.

"I'm sorry, Helga!" Arnold shouts in vain. But his words become a victim of the night air. 

Gerald and Phoebe stand transfix in shock, watching hurricane Helga blow away from her ex beau. They suddenly come out of their trance to survey the aftermath of the storm. What they see before them is a lone person, still standing, as he slowly gets his senses back from the assault. Gerald and Phoebe slowly walk in shock toward Arnold, as they begin to hear his downtrodden voice. Arnold's head drops down again, covering his face, repeating himself.

"How could I be so dense?"

Gerald breaks away from Phoebe, as he comes up to his best friend to comfort him.

"Hey man, don't take it so hard. It could happen to anyone."

"Anyone?" Arnold says in disbelief, while lifting his head to stare at his old friend. "This shouldn't have happen at all!"

"I agree." Phoebe interjects.

Arnold and Gerald slowly turn to Phoebe dumbfounded, with their mouths open. But only silence comes from their bewildered mouths. Finally, Gerald gets his senses back, to blurt out something intelligent.

"What do you mean?"

Phoebe is taken aback at Gerald's question, since she thought he would understand. She sighs, slowly shaking her head.

"Arnold shouldn't have forgotten something this important." Phoebe makes her point perfectly clear. But Gerald fights back for his best friend.

"Hey! We're talking about Arnold. He's true blue. He didn't do this on purpose. He's only human, you know."

Phoebe thinks deeply about Gerald's sudden words of wisdom.

"Maybe you're right. It's not like Arnold to do it on purpose." But Phoebe continues to think more deeply as to why Arnold made that memory slip-up.

Gerald breathes a little sigh of relief, while he slowly smiles. He relaxes a little, now that his girlfriend finally sees the light. But he suddenly becomes alert, as if there's no time left.

"Go catch up to Helga. She'll listen to you." Gerald hastily says.

Phoebe quickly acknowledges, and rushes off in the direction of Helga's exit. Gerald turns to Arnold, watching his best friend with concern. Arnold slowly shakes his head, while staring at the ground, trying to figure out why he forgot such an important event. Gerald puts his arm around his shaken friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry. You're in good hands with Phoebe. I'm sure she'll convince Helga. If Phoebe can't, then nobody can. Besides, you guys were meant for each other. It was so obvious at Rhonda's party last year."

Arnold's head slowly rises, looking at his best buddy with wonder. A smile gradually appears on his face, as he remembers that very special night.

"I can't believe that it's already been a year since Rhonda's party. It's like it just happened yesterday. If it weren't for Harold and Rhonda daring Helga and I to dance with each other, we wouldn't be together now. I should thank Harold and Rhonda for what they did. But I'm sure they did it to make trouble. It was probably not what they were expecting."

"You got that right!" Gerald completely agrees. "I mean, you two were hot on the dance floor. You were incredible. You had Helga in complete control, as you matched her every move, which had a lot of passion to it. I didn't know you could dance that good."

"Neither did I." Arnold slowly shakes his head in disbelief, as he sighs with a smile. "It was almost…magical."

Gerald laughs out loud, confusing Arnold for a moment.

"Man! After the music stopped, everyone was cheering wildly for you guys. You and Helga sure turned red with embarrassment. I didn't expect you two to rush out of the house together holding hands."

"You know, Gerald?" Arnold asks, while he gathers his thoughts. "I didn't know I was holding Helga's hand, until we were outside."

"She must have been shocked!" Gerald says with surprise.

"No, she wasn't." Arnold says in a serious tone. "I just had this feeling just by the way she looked at me when we held each others hand. You may not believe this Gerald…but…when we looked into each others' eyes, we knew something special was happening between us. And yet, we didn't have to say anything to get the message across. We just knew. We continued our silence, as we started walking together to my car. When I drove her home, she was looking at me the whole time, with an expression I never saw in her before. She was still holding my hand tightly, never letting it go. I had a hard time driving her home, since I wanted to look at her so much. It wasn't easy. When we reached her house, I walked her to the front of her house, while she still continued to hold my hand. She suddenly let go of my hand, as she opened her door. Before she closed her door, she said.

'Call me. I'll be waiting.'"

Arnold pauses for a while, as he tries to analyze what happened on that incredible night. Gerald waits eagerly for his best friend to continue.

"She slowly closed her door watching me every second, until the door completely closed. I stood at her front door, wondering if this is a dream. I don't know how long I stood in front of her door, but I suddenly gathered my thoughts and raced to my car and drove away at a frantic pace. Once I got to my room, I called her immediately. She picked up her phone even before the first ring completed. We talked for the rest of the night. We talked about everything, as if we were making up for lost time. I didn't know that we talked all night long, until I saw the sun slowly rising."

Gerald is speechless, for what seems like a long time, gazing at Arnold in awe. 

"Now I remember! You never told me anything of what happened that night. When I saw you the next day, I couldn't get anything out of you, like you were in another world. But just a few minutes later, when Helga appeared, I saw you two watching each other in a way that I had never seen before. Before I got a chance to recover from you 2 staring weirdly at each other, then you guys move to each other like 2 magnets and suddenly hold hands so naturally. From that point onward, you two were inseparable. Until now." 

Arnold remains silent, as he reminisces about the first day together with Helga. As they walk slowly in the park, they notice an empty basketball court. Well…almost empty. They notice for the first time, a couple weaving in and out from each other gracefully. The couple is the same height. The red hair male partner lifts with ease, his female partner. Her shoulder length brown hair is tied up in a short ponytail, while she spreads out her arms. She appears as if she could fly away. But her partner tenderly lowers her to the good earth. Arnold and Gerald gaze at the couple with amazement. But stare in shock, as the female partner gracefully, but firmly, lifts up her partner. She made the lift seem very easy. Her partner spreads out his arms, giving the look of total merriment. The male partner suddenly notices Arnold and Gerald. Without hesitating, he warmly smiles.

"Hey guys." Eugene cheerfully says, even though he's completely at ease, with Sheena holding him steady.

Sheena suddenly turns to take a look at Arnold and Gerald. She releases her hold on her partner, while he suddenly drops. Arnold and Gerald are just about to cry out loud of Eugene's sudden fall. But Sheena catches her partner in her arms, as they laugh out loud. She tosses him out of her arms, in which he gently lands on the ground with ease. They continue to laugh, giving each other the high five.

"What brings you guys out here?" Sheena asks inquisitively. Eugene suddenly notices Arnold, without Helga being at his side.

"Where's Helga?" Eugene asks with wonder.

"This is the first time I've seen you without Helga in…hmmm…many, many months." Sheena studies Arnold, as if he's missing something. "You guys are so close, I could swear you two were locked at the hip."

Arnold's face shows a faint red, but a smile slowly appears. However, he sighs in the process. Gerald answers for his best friend.

"They had a…um…discussion." Gerald slowly says with uncertainty.

"What you're saying, is that they had a fight." Eugene politely intervenes. Gerald sighs and silently acknowledges.

"I'm very sorry to hear about it, Arnold." Sheena says with sincerity. "But don't worry. I'm sure you will have it patched up before you know it. Besides, you two are meant for each other. It's so obvious."

Sheena and Eugene turn to each other at the same time, as they point a single finger to each other and shout out at the same time.

"Rhonda's party!" They laugh out loud. Arnold stares at them in complete confusion.

"Am I the only one who doesn't completely understand? Was it that obvious?"

"Hey" Eugene says with confidence. "Everyone at the party could tell that you and Helga have the right chemistry." Sheena gently places her arm around Eugene's shoulder for support.

"Since you two became an item, this is the first time in months that we have been able to talk to you. After all…you were busy being with Helga. I kid you not."

"That's right, man." Gerald adds in support. "Phoebe and I decided to give you plenty of time with Helga. You know, quality time. With plenty of quantity time too."

Arnold slowly digests the news with renewed insight. He realizes, for the first time, just how much time he spent being with Helga, and almost forgetting his friends in the process.

"I'm sorry guys. But thanks for letting me know."

"No problem." Eugene warmly says. "If there's anything that we can do, let us know."

"I appreciate it." Arnold humbly says. "I'll let you know how it comes out."

"Take it easy." Eugene says with poise.

He holds Sheena's hand, as she waves with her other hand. As Eugene leads Sheena in the direction of the basketball court, her eyes gaze at Arnold. She speaks to him with assurance, giving him a wink and a warm smile.

"She'll come back. Wait and see."

Arnold watches Sheena, feeling a little better, for a while. She walks slowly to the basketball court with Eugene. Arnold turns his head away from the departing couple. But he appreciates Eugene and Sheena's support.

Arnold starts to walk away. But he stops suddenly, as he turns around to see Gerald watching the couple walk away.

"Did you notice that Eugene never became an accident case? Sheena has done wonders with that guy."

"Yea" Arnold slowly agrees. "They make a cute couple." But watching Eugene and Sheena only made Arnold feel more alone. He continues to watch the couple. They pick up where they left off, as they dance in sync. He turns to Gerald with his mind made up.

"Listen, Gerald." Arnold fishes for the right words to say to his friend. "I think I'll head back to the boarding house. I need more time to figure out what to do. But if I need any help, I'll call you in a heartbeat."

Gerald wishes he knew what he could do for Arnold in his time of need. But he nods his head in acknowledgment.

"I feel for you, man. But when you need me, I'll be there."

Arnold smiles, and gives Gerald the special handshake. He turns away from Gerald, and slowly heads to the boarding house. Gerald stands alone, watching his friend slowly disappear from sight.

***********

Meanwhile, Phoebe spots Helga, slowly walking in the direction of her home. Helga kicks an empty soda can, as she tries to release some of her anger. She's just about to kick the can again, when she hears the call of her name. She stops suddenly, clenching her fists, waiting for her best friend to catch up. Helga quickly turns around, as she continues to release the anger floodgates.

"What do you want?" Helga angrily says. Phoebe gathers her thoughts, as she recovers from Helga's sudden outburst.

"Well…" Phoebe slowly says intentionally. "The last time I remember, you were still my best friend. Or has that changed?"

Helga's bully mask slowly begins to slip away. Her face reveals the pain she experience from Arnold, as well as the pain she just threw at her best friend.

"Oh Pheebs." Helga's wall crumbles apart, as she immediately hugs her best friend tightly. Phoebe gently smiles, warmly embracing Helga. "I'm so confused, I don't know what I'm doing." Phoebe tenderly pats her best friend's back for comfort.

"I understand." Phoebe tries to reassure Helga. "I guess you need someone like me to vent out your frustration."

"No I don't." Helga quickly says, breaking away from Phoebe's embrace. "It's that stupid Football Headed jerk." Her anger gradually rises. "Why was he so thoughtless?" She stares at Phoebe, expecting her to have a quick answer. Phoebe steadies herself, as she tries to give a reasonable answer.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. It's not like him. Even Gerald sometimes forgets important things."

"Men!" Helga says with distaste. "Why do they act like this?"

"Well…" Phoebe gathers her thoughts. "Perhaps guys have a hormonal imbalance at this age."

"A hormonal what?" Helga tries to control her laughter. But she slowly smiles, while she shakes her head. "You know, Pheebs? If I heard this from anyone else, I would say that this is the most ridiculous thing that I've ever heard. But coming from you, it actually makes a little sense."

Phoebe slowly exhales with relief, as she adds food for thought.

"Isn't this the first time that you and Arnold argued since Rhonda's party?"

Helga quickly tries to find a weak link in the question.

"Of course not. There was that time…" But she dismisses that thought and tries for another. "I know! It was when he…" But her voice trails off, when she silently realizes that this was their first argument.

"Just as I thought." Phoebe smiles in triumph. Helga realizes that she didn't have a case to be angry with Arnold.

"Maybe I'm being too harsh to Arnold. It's just that I never expected him to forget our anniversary. But if this is all that I can find wrong with him, then I'm being such a fool."

Phoebe silently approaches Helga from behind. She reaches up to place her hands on Helga's shoulders, as Phoebe whispers in her ear.

"Go to him." She gently pushes Helga forward in the direction of Arnold's boarding house. Helga protests in jest.

"Okay okay, I'm going. Now you can go back and be with that tall hair boyfriend of yours." 

Helga slowly begins to walk, but turns around briefly. She smiles at Phoebe to show her appreciation. She returns the smile, giving thumbs up to Helga. She turns back to continue walking, reflecting her time being with Arnold.

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Arnold continues to walk in the direction of his boarding house, while deeply thinking of a way to get Helga back. But he cannot think of a solution. He's almost near the boarding house, since he sees the building. Helga, from a distance, watches Arnold approaching the building. He stops at the side of it, next to the ladder. He slowly holds the ladder with one hand pondering what to do. He looks up the ladder, which leads to the roof. He made his decision.

Arnold slowly climbs the ladder, while Helga watches him. He jumps over the side, landing on the roof and surveys it. The piano is still on top of the roof. His guitar lies next to the piano. Arnold walks in the direction of the piano with uncertainty. He stops in front of the piano, while his eyes move to his guitar. He bends down to gently pick it up, and straps it around him. With guitar in hand, Arnold looks up at the stars for inspiration. He suddenly feels as if Helga is near him, but he doesn't know why? He slowly picks at the strings, searching for a melody.

Helga climbs the ladder to the roof of the boarding house. She peers over the edge of the roof. What she sees in front of her, is her beloved, with his back facing her. A note rises from his guitar every once in a while. Helga rises and slowly walks to Arnold. But Arnold's guitar comes to life, while his voice fills the air. Helga halts her approach, to absorb the music that completely surrounds her.

You fill up my senses.

Like a night in a forest.

Like the mountains in springtime.

Like a walk in the rain

Like a storm in the desert.

Like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses. 

Come fill me again.

Come let me love you

Let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter

Let me die in you arms

Let me lay down beside you

Let me always be with you

Come let me love you

Come love me again

(Arnold becomes silent, as he strums his guitar. He continues strumming his guitar, slowly reaching a crescendo. His head looks up at the stars. A tear slowly runs down his face.) 

(Helga feels as if a force is gently pulling her into the song. She slowly becomes overwhelmed.)

Let me give my life to you

Come let me love you

Come love me again

You fill up my senses

Like a night in the forest

Like the mountains in springtime

Like a walk in the rain

Like the storm in the desert

Like a sleepy blue ocean

You fill up my senses

Come fill me again

Arnold hangs on to the last word of the song. He stretches the word, for as long as his breath lasts, as if all life depended on it. But his voice trails off from the last word of the song, strumming the final chord on his guitar. He listens to his guitar, while the sound slowly fades away. Arnold clings to the last chord with regret. His gaze returns to the stars, as he sighs. 

For a moment, he felt as if his song gave him the strength he needed, to find a solution to his problem. But when his last guitar chord dies in the air, he realizes that nothing has changed, since he's still alone. He slowly takes off his guitar and places it on top of the piano. He leans on the piano, to support himself, since his despair is slowly growing. His head bows down in agony. Suddenly, Arnold hears the sweet voice of an angel.

"Arnold"

Arnold slowly lifts his head in disbelief at what he just heard, as if this is a dream. He slowly turns around, as he sees Helga on the other side of the roof. He utters the name that is precious to him.

"Helga"

Helga slowly walks to Arnold, with an expression of forgiveness on her face. She stops in front of him, but she suddenly slaps the top of his football shaped head.

"Ouch!"

"You stupid Football Head!"

Arnold's eyes suddenly well up, as a single tear falls. He feels the pain. But not from her sudden slap, but from her words. His head slowly drops in despair. But as his head continues to drop, two gentle hands cup his face, while carefully lifting his head to meet her eyes. 

"But I'm crazy for you." She slowly leans forward to meet the lips of her muse, giving him a loving kiss.

She slowly moves away to gaze into her lover's eyes. Arnold's lips slowly smile, knowing that they're together again. But suddenly, his face turns pale. His head drops again, turning away from Helga, since he remembers the reason why they temporarily separated. She senses his remorse. Arnold slowly raises his head to meet her eyes, while his lips open to plead for forgiveness.

"Helga I'm…"

But Helga quickly places a finger to her lips. Her lips pucker a little, and a gentle hush comes from her. She slowly shakes her head, to silently explain to him that he doesn't need to say anything. She slowly lowers her finger away from her lips. Her warm blue eyes explain their fate.

"Love…means …never having to say you're sorry."

Arnold's face is a study of astonishment, as his green eyes widen, while his mouth opens a little. But he slowly closes his mouth and replaces it with a warm smile. He slowly moves behind Helga. He tenderly wraps his arms around her. She holds on to his arms tightly, to symbolize the strength of their bondage, since they're together for keeps. 

"Helga?"

"Yea?"

"Do me a favor."

"Anything."

"Please don't hit my head anymore. It's sensitive, you know."

Helga slowly turns her head, while she looks up at her Football headed love god. She slowly smiles.

"Whatever you say, Arnold."

Together, they lovingly watch the stars, in all of their glory.

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"Annie's Song" by John Denver


End file.
